Miguel Cabanellas Ferrer (1 January 1872 – 14 May 1938) was a Spanish Army officer. He was a leading figure of the 1936 coup d'état in Zaragoza and sided with the Nationalist faction during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

Biography

Born on 1 January 1872 in Cartagena, he joined the army in 1889. A cavalry officer, as a major he managed the creation of the African Regular troops (Moroccan troops in the Spanish army). In August 1921 he participated in the reconquest of the surroundings of Melilla, occupied by rebel Rifian forces after the

Battle of Annual The Battle of Annual was fought on 22 July 1921 at Annual, in northeastern Morocco, between the Spanish Army and Rifian Berbers during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, which is almost always referred to by the Spanish a ...

. He was promoted to brigadier general and made envoy to the island of Menorca as military governor.

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...

permitted him to go into the reserves in 1926, which led him to participate in a revolt frustrated in 1929. For his support of the republicans, on 17 April 1931 the provisional government of the Republic named him commander-in-chief of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

. Later he was named commander of the troops in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and replaced

José Sanjurjo José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936), was a Spanish general, one of the military leaders who plotted the July 1936 ''coup d'état'' which started the Spanish Civil War. He was endowed the nobiliary title of "Marquis o ...

in the main directorate of the Civil Guard. Cabanellas was a freemason. In 1934 he was a delegate of the

Radical Republican Party The Radical Republican Party ( es, Partido Republicano Radical), sometimes shortened to the Radical Party, was a Spanish Radical party in existence between 1908 and 1936. Beginning as a splinter from earlier Radical parties, it initially played a ...

. In July 1936 he was head of 5ª Organic division based in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, where on 19 July he declared his support for the Nationalists. Due to his seniority, he was president of the

National Defense Junta The Junta de Defensa Nacional ( en, National Defense Junta) was a military junta which governed the territories held by the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist faction of the Spanish Civil War from July to September 1936. The ...

that on 21 September 1936 proclaimed

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

head of government and

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

– though Cabanellas was the only one who dissented to this choice. He warned his fellow rebel generals that "You don’t know what you have done because you don’t know him as do I, given that he was under my command in the African Army… If you give him Spain, he is going to believe that it is his and he will not allow anyone to replace him in the war or after it, until his death."Bernat Muniesa, ''Dictadura y transición. La España lampedusiana. I: La dictadura franquista. 1939-1975'', p.41 y p.42. Cita original: Guillermo Cabanellas, ''Cuatro Generales. La lucha por el poder'' He was later Chief inspector of the Army until his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabanellas, Miguel 1872 births 1938 deaths Military personnel from Cartagena, Spain Spanish generals People of the Rif War Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Spanish Freemasons